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Covid 19 TF update

The COVID-19 Task Force met Friday, September 2nd. This meeting had a shorter agenda. Here is what was discussed:

CDC community levels

  • Case rates dropped 12% in both Hennepin and Ramsey counties week over week
  • COVID hospital admits dropped back below 10/100k, so both counties are in the low level again
  • Case reports ticked up, but we are still at less than 0.5% of the campus population. (Below 1% is low.)
  • Mike Grewe stated in the meeting: Most residential students who are testing positive for COVID are choosing to isolate at home, reducing exposure to the campus community.

Mask Ask

  • FYI – web page updated to include Saturday, Sept. 10 classes, as requested by MSW

We have a Google Form available for Augsburg Staff Union members to ask questions to be brought up at the COVID Task Force meetings. We did not receive any questions this week.  

Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.  

The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings and questions asked in the google form

Covid 19 TF Update

Header: Update

The COVID-19 Task Force met Friday, October 14th. Listed below are the latest updates: 

MDH Update

  • Since August 21, omicron accounts for all cases in MN (currently, ~90% BA.5 and ~8% BA.4)
  • Elsewhere in HHS Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) starting to see BA.4.6 subvariant increasing in proportion
  • Survey of COVID coordinators (74 responses)
  • We are generally aligned with the majority of institutions in terms of our approach to masking, testing, and isolation space (not counting non-residential institutions) this semester
  • Latest updates to CDC guidance only apply to institutions with on-campus health-care providers
  • Update since meeting last week: bivalent boosters approved for children as young as 5
  • When to get boosted if you’ve had COVID:
    • A person with COVID-19 infection can be vaccinated upon recovery from acute illness and discontinuing isolation. This applies to all COVID-19 vaccine doses, including boosters.
    • People who recently had SARS-CoV-2 infection may consider delaying a primary series dose or booster dose by 3 months from symptom onset or positive test (if infection was asymptomatic).
    • Studies have shown that increased time between infection and vaccination may result in an improved immune response to vaccination. Also, a low risk of reinfection has been observed in the weeks to months following infection

CDC community levels

  • Covid cases and hospitalizations in MN “as flat as a pancake” (@dhmontgomery)
  • Hennepin cases down 3.4% from last week; Ramsey, down 10.1%
  • On-campus case rate remains manageable

We have a Google Form available for Augsburg Staff Union members to ask questions to be brought up at the COVID Task Force meetings. We did not receive any questions this week.

Covid TF Update

The COVID-19 Task Force met Friday, September 9th.  

Minnesota Department of Health Update:

  • Most of Minnesota (including Hennepin and Ramsey counties) in low community level as defined by CDC
  • However, transmissions levels (previous metric we tracked, still used in healthcare settings) are high across almost the entire state
  • Case rates have declined across the state since August meeting, rate of COVID ICU admissions remains low
  • Since July, all cases in the state have been omicron; BA.5 subvariant dominant
  • Reviewed decision making on strengthening or loosening prevention measures based on both institutional factors (such as vaccination rate) and CDC community levels
  • Not all exposures are the same: Understanding Exposure Risks(CDC)
  • CDC has retired events guidance; it now falls under “Protect Yourself and Others
  • Bivalent Fall Boosters
  • People that have completed a primary series may receive the booster at least two months after they have completed primary vaccination, or two months after they received a booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine.
  • People 12 years and older can receive bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; 18 and older can receive bivalent Moderna
  • The new bivalent vaccines replaced the monovalent booster vaccines for people 12 and older effective immediately.
CDC community levels:Hennepin and Ramsey counties remain in low CDC levelRegional case rates declined even further compared with last week
Reported campus case levels remain manageable, below 1%
We have a Google Form available for Augsburg Staff Union members to ask questions to be brought up at the COVID Task Force meetings. We did not receive any questions this week.  Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.  The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings and questions asked in the google form.

Covid 19 TF Update

Header: Update

The COVID-19 Task Force met Thursday, August 12th. Here are the notes from the meeting: 

CDC community levels 

  • For 8/10/22, both Hennepin and Ramsey remain low (below 200 cases/100k population)
  • First time Hennepin remained below 200 for two weeks in a row since the end of April. (See 6-week history.)
  • No student or employee cases reported so far this week. 

COVID-19 statement for syllabi 

  • Faculty have begun inquiring about a syllabus “COVID statement” that they can include in their syllabi for Fall. As the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright can provide this for faculty via the COVID team/other institutional admin based on this committee’s recommendation.
  • During the meeting, the Deans (Monica Devers and Ryan Haaland) told Jennifer to send a draft statement for them to review along with Provost Paula O’Loughlin. 

Residence Life Planning

  • Mike Grewe stated that they are working on an isolation contingency plan if they run out of isolation spaces. 
  • There will still be a floor dedicated to student isolation (13th floor of Mortensen)
  • Monkeypox planning (in process) – nothing has been finalized yet. However, there will be contact tracing for Monkeypox. 
  • Plan to send an email to students sometime next week with all finalized updates. 

Further discussion about masking at the start of fall

  • Lauren Radomski provided Staff Union Feedback based on the survey that was sent out last week- She shared that 21/23 respondents wanted a mask mandate in the fall. 
  • Athletics: Concern about how to require other teams and spectators to wear masks. 
  • Further discussion on mandate vs recommendation.
  • After the discussion, Rebecca John stated that she plans to recommend the following to the President’s office: 
  • For the first week, Augsburg is going to ask that everyone wear a mask indoors where there are other people around. This will be neither a mandate nor a recommendation, but instead will be a direct ask.
  • Start date for the masking ask at Augsburg: First day of classes on August 31st through Friday, September 9th. 

HEPA Filter Machines

  • Someone in the task force brought up that they are not clear on the management of the HEPA filter machines across campus. 
  • John Knowles stated: “Our team will check the machines as part of our pre-Fall classroom checks. Facilities is able to replace if they are not working.”
  • Make sure your HEPA filter machines are on and if they are not working, put in a work order request to facilities. 

Updated CDC guidance (issued Aug. 11, 2022) 

  • Known exposure: Protocol for those with boosters now applies to everyone: mask for 10 days, test on day 5-7 (or sooner if symptoms present) 
  • Isolation: Same 5 day isolation, with masking days 6-10 and notifying close contacts, but now there’s an option to mask only until they receive two consecutive negative test results, with tests taken at least 48 hours apart. For some people, though, this might mean they will need to continue masking longer than 10 days. 
  • The Outbreak Planning site, automated email content, and logic will be updated to reflect these changes. 
  • Contact Tracing for COVID: When some reports that they are positive via the reporting form, the student, faculty and/or staff that reported they were positive will receive the instructions to contact the people that were exposed to them to let them know.

We have a Google Form available for Augsburg Staff Union members to ask questions to be brought up at the COVID Task Force meetings. We received one question this week about contact tracing on campus. This was addressed during the meeting today during the updated CDC guidance discussion. 

Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.  

The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings and questions asked in the google form.

Covid-19 TF Update

Header: Update

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 Task Force met Thursday, August 4th. The main focus of the meeting was a discussion on a potential mask mandate for the first two weeks of the fall semester. Here are the notes from the meeting and next steps that we need from you:

Next steps for Augsburg Staff Union Members:

We want your feedback! Please complete the following short google form about your opinion and reasoning to either have a mask mandate at the start of the semester or to not have a mask mandate at the start of the semester. Please refer to the meeting notes listed below for more context about the discussion that was had at the COVID task force meeting. 

Start of Fall Mask Mandate Google Form

Meeting notes:

Dashboard update

  • As of mid-last week, case rates were still fairly steady in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, but Hennepin County rate eked just above the CDC medium threshold. Ramsey County numbers all were in low community level. MPR calls it a “slow burn.”
  • Campus case rates remain manageable, though student case numbers ticked up this past week.
  • Potential draft messages and signage are ready if community level reach “high” and we would need to consider reinstating the mask mandate.
  • A decision to move to a potential mask mandate will continue to be evaluated weekly based on community levels and institution level factors.

Minnesota Department of Health Updates

  • Variants
    • BA.4 omicron sub variant accounts for 85 percent of cases in HHS Region 5 (Midwest)
    • New sublineage, BA.2.75, increasing in frequency and has been identified in MN; does not seem to show greater immune evasion than BA.5
  • Overview of mitigation strategies for 2022-23
    • Base decisions on institution-level factors (vaccine coverage, ability to detect transmission, population risk of severe disease, masking policy, ventilation) in combination with COVID-19 Community Levels
    • Sliding scale of efforts in: vaccination policy, testing access, testing strategies, isolation space, masking, and ventilation
  • New reporting guidelines and new REDCAP form launching next week at COVID coordinator training
  • Monkeypox update (39 confirmed cases in MN)

Chronicle Article: Higher ed vaccine mandates significantly decreased COVID deaths

Start of Fall Mask Mandate Discussion (no decisions for recommendations were made in the meeting)

  • Discussed recommending a return-to-school indoor mask mandate (potentially starting Th, 8/25, expiring Sa 9/10, provided that Hennepin County is in low or medium level)
  • It was talked about starting it earlier on the 22nd because of student move-in times.
  • We discussed what would be the ultimate goal of the mask mandate. Here are the comments mentioned in the meeting:
    • To reduce potential spread of COVID-19 at the start of the semester because of the amount of people that will be returning to campus and attending larger on-campus events.
    • To minimize disruption at the start of classes for better student success.
  • The following questions and comments were discussed at the meeting:
    • Does it make sense to have masking at only large events and classrooms, or at all indoor common areas except for designated eating spaces?
    • We also discussed that the type of mask is really important (n95 & kn95). We have to indicate what type of mask is effective in order to actually reduce transmission. Mike Grewe is trying to work with Student Government to obtain some KN95s before first-year move-in. There wouldn’t be a large stock of masks, but there would be some.
    • Even if we don’t have 100% compliance, a mask mandate would still help reduce transmission.
    • Does this mean athletes will have to wear masks when playing?
    • Should this be a mask mandate or a recommendation?
    • Macalester will have a mask mandate at the start of fall.
    • Because there has not been a significant amount of people masking in the community, we need to determine why we would be reinstating a mask mandate on campus for the first two weeks if Hennepin County is not at a high community level.
    • To what extent will it be enforced if a mask mandate is implemented?
  • We ultimately did not come to a decision to recommend because of the amount of factors that still need to be considered at this time. We all agreed to reach out to the departments and groups that we represent and gather more feedback on this topic before we meet again next week.

Here is the Google Form link again to complete with your feedback:

We did not get to other items on the agenda at the meeting. As a result, we will be meeting again next week to continue our discussion on the potential of a mask mandate for the first two weeks of classes in fall and address remaining agenda items:

  • Task Force Meeting Schedule
  • COVID-19 statement for syllabi
  • Residence Life planning

The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings. 

Bargaining Updates

Header: Agusburg Staff. Augsburg Values. Augsburg Contract.

Dear Colleagues,

It’s been a while since we’ve given a comprehensive Union bargaining update. This is mainly due to how microscopic the administration’s movement has been in the last several months. Bargaining has all but come to a standstill- with us fighting for affordable healthcare, job security, and livable wages on one side, and the administration fighting for the turnover-driving status quo on the other.

Healthcare Costs

The administration has indicated that they see no issue with the astronomical cost of our healthcare, therefore they don’t want to improve it. They want the status quo and nothing more. Meanwhile, health insurance for a family at Augsburg costs roughly $14,000/year before the plan significantly starts to cover costs, which prices most people who need family-level care out of coverage, or drives them away from Augsburg. (Only 10% of our bargaining unit selects family coverage.) In a comparison with other Minnesota private colleges and ELCA-affiliated schools nationally, Augsburg is dead-last in affordability. This must change.

Please fill out this brief survey on how the cost of healthcare at Augsburg affects you.

Wages

Since we started bargaining on March 9, 2021, the Union has proposed a higher minimum salary floor for all positions. The administration’s current counterproposal leaves 97% of the unit without a base floor increase, and the remaining 3% with a very small bump. Additionally, the administration only wants to offer a 2% cost of living increase for 2023, and 1.5% each subsequent year. Yet in the last 12 months, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 9.1%.

If you’re an Augsburg VP, maybe you earn enough to not feel the same impact of inflation plus Twin Cities housing costs (and especially if Augsburg gives you a free house!). Unfortunately, our average staff person earns only $50,000/year, hence our ask for a living wage. Augsburg has also been paying an expensive management attorney to deal with the Union for the last two years. Every day they don’t settle our contract, that cost continues.

The administration has not said they can’t afford to pay us more, only that they are not interested in doing so. They should honor true Lutheran values and start sharing the wealth, or give us a clear reason why they can’t.

Job Security

Admin has reiterated, emphatically, that we should not have a guarantee of layoff by seniority, which is the overwhelming standard in the vast majority of union contracts nationwide- including the Operating Engineers’ contract with Augsburg, which covers facilities and custodial staff. In 2020, the administration arbitrarily laid off dozens of staff to deal with a pre-Covid budget “crisis” (or what some believe was an “accounting error”). People who had worked for Augsburg for up to 20 years were let go in one of the most uncertain times in any of our lives.

Most union contracts require layoffs by seniority because it’s the only truly fair method of dealing with the rare instance of layoffs. It removes favoritism and unfair targeting of staff in favor of an objective standard based on years of service. We don’t anticipate layoffs, and neither does the administration. But under our proposal, if they occur, there would be clear and consistent criteria for who is laid off and how. Our proposal also would provide an opportunity for people to take on other jobs at Augsburg before being laid off, if qualified. Finally, those laid off would be given some severance pay, continued insurance, and priority for rehire.

What is the administration’s proposal? To do layoffs of whoever they want, however they want. This isn’t fair and isn’t in line with the union standard across the country.

Management’s Rights

The administration is demanding that we waive our rights under federal labor law and waive all rights to bargain over any changes to our working conditions. Under labor law, the employer always maintains the right to run its business and has final decision making authority. But the law also gives our Union the right to bargain over changes that affect us. Admin wants to take our voice away from us, which was a fundamental reason we formed a Union.

We have successful examples over the past year where we have bargained over management-proposed changes before they were implemented: a mandatory vaccine policy (which resulted in us bargaining 16 extra hours of PTO for everyone), healthcare renewals for 2022 (which resulted in us bargaining increases down from 5% to 2.5%), a wage increase for 2022, and more.

Without our federally-protected right to bargain over working conditions, admin could do whatever they want and never talk to us about it. They could change your job description, overhaul the Employee Handbook, or make changes we can’t anticipate.  This certainly does not respect the democratic process we went through to form a union, and this is why we cannot waive our rights under the law.

Summary

These are big issues. It’s been 16 months of this frustrating posture by the administration to ignore our concerns and believe that our proposals will make a better Augsburg for all. The longer they hold out on providing affordable wages, healthcare, and job protections, the worse this turnover crisis is going to get. Even if admin thinks they’re going to “win” by saving whatever money they can on this contract, they’re going to lose in the long run when the turnover crisis begins to hurt our prestige as a university because staff is no longer able to adequately support the students. We’ve heard over and over from students how admin’s deliberate understaffing affects them. When will admin act to stop the bleeding and treat us fairly?

Covid 19 TF Update

Dear Colleagues,
The COVID-19 Task Force met very briefly Thursday, June 30th 2022. I was not able to attend the meeting today due to a work conflict, but here are the notes that were shared with me. If you have any clarifying questions, please let us know.Status Update:Case rate volatility (7-day case rate per 100K population in Hennepin):

  • Wednesday, June 8: 315
  • Wednesday, June 15: 241
  • Wednesday, June 22: 137 (Current Dashboard)
  • Tuesday, June 28:    281

Overall, MN cases continue slow decline:

MN Covid 19 Cases per year
Rate of change for MN cases and hospitalization
Variant frequency in Twin Cities wastewater
Covid load in Twin Cities metro wastewater

Other updates
Very close to automating email responses to COVID form submissions.Nearly 300 new student vaccination cards uploaded (esp. during SOAR) and recorded.
CDC changed definition of “up to date” on vaccinations for those 50 and older to include two boosters MDH meeting next Wednesday, July 6.Charts retrieved from: https://mpr-news.github.io/covid-data/dashboard.html

We also set up a Google Form so Augsburg Staff Union members could state their questions or concerns to be addressed at the meeting. We did not receive any questions this week.Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.

Covid 19 TF Update

retrieved from: https://mpr-news.github.io/covid-data/dashboard.html

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 Task Force meeting has been cancelled for this week. Here are updates the COVID Task Force was sent in replacement of a meeting time:

  • As reported in the June 9 meeting and as shown on the Dashboard, the 7-day case rate in Hennepin County rose back above 300 per 100,000 population as of Wednesday, June 7. It has since declined slowly to the low 200s, as has Ramsey County.
  • The 2022 line in the graph above shows how the overall case rate trend in MN has flattened after declining a bit from mid/late May.

We also set up a Google Form so Augsburg Staff Union members could state their questions or concerns to be addressed at the meeting. We did not receive any questions this week.Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.

The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings and questions asked in the google form.

Covid 19 TF Update

Dear Colleagues,
The COVID-19 Task Force met on 6/9/22. Here are the latest updates:
Dashboard update

  • During the first week of June Hennepin and Ramsey counties moved from a medium to a low community level. 
  • Both counties reported a 7-day case rate of fewer than 200 COVID cases per 100,000 population on last week’s report date (6/1). 
  • 7-day case rates have since risen back above 200/100K. The Memorial Day holiday affected these data, with an artificial drop resulting from far fewer people getting tested on the holiday Monday, followed by a “catch-up” spike after Memorial Day dropped out of the 7-day case count. 

Front-line worker pay

  • Application period June 8-July 22. 
  • HR will be posting notices across campus and reaching out to specific departments.
  • Will post on Outbreak Planning, Inside Augsburg, and share via A-mail.

Final CampusClear data

SOAR plans

  • Since there is currently no mask mandate on campus, masks will not be required at SOAR.

Minnesota Private College Council Campus Update

  • A quick share of other campus COVID plans for fall was discussed in the MPCC meeting. Overall, some campuses plan to have fewer or reduced COVID plans in the fall and some plan to continue to have some COVID precautions in place.
  • During the COVID task force meeting, it was not discussed what impact other campuses plans have on Augsburg’s fall planning at this time. 

We also set up a Google Form so Augsburg Staff Union members could state their questions or concerns to be addressed at the meeting. We did not receive any questions this week.Urgent questions related to COVID-19 should not be submitted via the Google Form, those questions should continue to be sent to helpline@augsburg.edu, calling 612-474-3100, and/or by using the Augsburg self-reporting form.

The staff union representative will continue to send weekly updates based on information gathered in the COVID Task Force meetings and questions asked in the google form.